Report: Shoulder injury not what impacted Markelle Fultz's shot

Report: Shoulder injury not what impacted Markelle Fultz's shot

When former No. 1 overall draft pick Markelle Fultz spent the bulk of his rookie season sidelined with a shoulder injury, there were major concerns that the injury had seriously impacted his shooting form.

Fultz struggled with his shot as a rookie, shooting just 40.5 percent from the field during 14 regular season games and missing his lone 3-point attempt. The struggles continued into the postseason, as he shot 14.3 percent in very limited minutes.

Apparently, though, Fultz’s shoulder injury actually had nothing to do with his struggles to find the bottom of the basket.

The report is certainly eye-opening and it points out that while the right-shoulder injury caused him to miss 68 games, it wasn’t what directly impact his shot. Fultz has spent the offseason working with player development specialist Drew Hanlan with the hopes of improving the key aspect of his game.

This is a player who made 47.6 percent of his field goals and 50.2 percent inside the 3-point line during his lone collegiate season while averaging 23.2 points per game, so he’s shown plenty of upside when it comes to his shot.

If this was indeed just mental, then the hope is that Fultz can use this offseason to regain his confidence. In turn, that could result in the 20-year-old making a big impact during the 2018-19 season.